Despite legal options provided by AMC and Fox, The Walking Dead was pirated by half a million people within the first few hours of the new season’s premiere.

AMC did their best to minimize piracy of the latest season of The Walking Dead, but it seems to have been for naught. International television fans will be well aware that certain shows tend to lag in their release outside America, airing on foreign shores up to a year after their release on US television. This has always been a good excuse for piracy, so AMC did their best to ensure the season four premiere of the zombie drama aired with less than a 24 hour delay in 125 countries world-wide. In addition, they provided free streaming options domestically on their website. “We want to prevent the spoilers for sure, we also want to make sure [international viewers] get the best version of the show; not some pirated version,” said Liz Dolan, Fox International Channel’s chief marketing office.

Despite this, half a million people downloaded a copy of the premiere episode within the first 16 hours of its release. It seems AMC and Fox International’s efforts haven’t made a difference. What Dolan fails to realize is that “some pirated version” is often the best version out there; free of adverts and usually of a higher quality than what’s available for streaming. AMC should be applauded for trying to accommodate what their viewers want, but they’re clearly not there yet. Since last season, the number of pirated downloads has gone up.

Among the countries which pirated the episode, currently, the United States is in the lead, with 15.5% of the downloaded copies. Among those hot on its heels are the UK and Australia.

Maybe this will be the season where Rick finally learns how to aim a gun.